


For the Sake of a Dog

by WitchFlame (RachelMcN)



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23950243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RachelMcN/pseuds/WitchFlame
Summary: Warlock is is his late twenties, when he finds the demon.His flatmates idiot dog has ran off and he’s out on the hunt with the rest of them, because he does care about the stupid mutt even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He isn’t expecting to find a demon, pinned down in the abandoned shed on the moor.The creature stops pulling at its cuffs as they spy him standing by the broken door. “Bugger,” they hiss, their sheet-black wings tugging against the freshly lain boards they’re nailed to, “Uh, hey there. Don’t suppose you’re here to help me out of this?”Warlock clears his throat, “Have you seen a dog?”
Comments: 17
Kudos: 118





	For the Sake of a Dog

**Author's Note:**

> [Russian version](https://ficbook.net/readfic/9660207) voluntarily translated by RinaScaramouche available on ficbook.

Warlock is is his late twenties, when he finds the demon. His flatmates idiot dog has ran off and he’s out on the hunt with the rest of them, because he does care about the stupid mutt even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He isn’t expecting to find a demon, pinned down in the abandoned shed on the moor. 

The creature stops pulling at its cuffs as they spy him standing by the broken door. “Bugger,” they hiss, their sheet-black wings tugging against the freshly lain boards they’re nailed to, “Uh, hey there. Don’t suppose you’re here to help me out of this?” 

Warlock clears his throat, “Have you seen a dog?”

The demon stares at him and he can clearly see the golden sheen of their eyes broken only by the vertical slit of a cornered serpent. “She’s a beagle/poodle mix. Mostly brown and white. Floppy ears. Answers to Sasha.” 

“No,” the demon answers slowly, “I have not seen your dog.” 

“Oh, she’s not mine,” Warlock corrects, “She belongs to my flatmate.” 

“My mistake,” the demon drawls, “You know, I could help you find her. If you get me out of this.” They splay their hands pointedly in their cuffs, short chain pinned quite effectively through a block of solid stone. 

“How?” Warlock demands. He stays put by the door. He can’t see whether the cuffs are warded from here and he was taught better than that. 

“By,” the demon hisses, “magic. Demonic magic. Look, I’ll make a deal with you. Get me out of here and I’ll find your dog. Your flatmates dog.” 

That sounds straightforward. Warlock doesn’t trust it. “Nobody and nothing is harmed in any way, physically, psychologically _or_ emotionally, excluding what is necessary to release you. When we find the specific dog I’m looking for, I then _keep_ said dog and the deal is complete. Upon completion of the deal, you get to leave, not before. There is a time limit of two hours to complete the deal starting from the moment I walk into this building. I agree to no further clauses than the ones I have just stated.” 

The demon blinks and sits back, “what are you, a lawyer? Okay, yes, sure, sounds fair.” It pulls on its cuffs pointedly. 

“Hold on,” Warlock interrupts it, “What’s your name?” 

The demon squints at him. “Oh no, pipsqueak, we’re not going there.” 

Warlock shrugs. “Suit yourself.” As he spins on his heel to carry on with his search he hears the demon call out from behind him. 

“Wait! Wait, for hell's sake!” He pauses but doesn’t turn back around. He hears the demon hiss. “Fine, _fine_ , my names Anthony.” He sighs and starts to walk away. “ _Crowley!_ My names Crowley, alright! Used to be _Crawly_ if we’re going that bloody archaic.” 

Mentally running through his memories he cheers. “Alright,” he agrees, turning back to the demon and sauntering into the leaking shed, “Deal.” 

The demon eyes him suspiciously. “Deal,” it repeats warily. Warlock kneels down at the furthest edge of its left wing, wraps his fingers around the leading nail and pulls. “Gently, _gently,”_ the demon yelps. 

“It’s a nail,” Warlock points out dryly, “through your _wing_. How gentle, exactly, do you think I’m able to be?” The demon growls and he takes that as concession of his point. He spies an abandoned hammer of to the side and snatches it up, using the back of its head to help him pry the nails up. The solidified deal hangs heavy in the air between them, binding them until it is seen through. 

“ _Bastard!_ ” the demon snarls and Warlock stops pointedly. “Not _you_ ,” they hiss, “the ones that did this to me.” 

Warlock nods agreeably, “that’s fair.” He pries the last nail out and the demon hisses with relief, fanning its newly freed wings around itself. They probably sting. 

The cuffs are definitely carved, though when Warlock taps them, the metal doesn’t feel blessed, which is an oversight of whoever hid the demon here. “So what’s your plan, Mr Lawyer,” the demon queries, “Or are you keeping them on me until I find your runaway dog and then using my name? I notice you didn’t clarify what _freeing me_ entailed.” 

“True,” Warlock concedes, “but I don’t need a demonic slave. That’s an easy way to get killed, and I’d rather not.” 

“Smart kid,” the demon praises, “But then why’d you want my name?” 

“So I knew who I was making a deal with,” Warlock shares easily, digging through his pockets, “and so I knew you weren’t an arsehole.” 

The demon barks out a laugh at that. “And you can tell that from just a name, can you?” 

“I have a demonic lexicon,” Warlock lies smoothly, “I know which names to avoid. Now hold still.” He slips his unbent paperclip into the keyhole he’s found and twists for the tumblers. Whoever the demons captors were, they’d selected some sturdy cuffs to carve into, Warlock at least had to give them that. It takes him just over a minute to unlatch the cuffs, but then he is out of practice. 

The demon snatches their hands away as soon as the cuffs click open, rubbing at their wrists. “A lawyer _and_ a handy lock-picker,” they praise, “even got a little demonic knowledge stored up in there. What a little warlock you are.” Warlock laughs aloud at the unintended joke, standing up and brushing off his trousers. The demon flicks their wings, banishing them into the ethereal realm with a wince before copying him. “So do I get to know your name?” 

“Nope,” Warlock replies cheerily, “Now come on, we’ve got my flatmates dog to find.” 

“Lead the way,” the demon encourages, grinning when Warlock only raises an eyebrow at them, “Oh wait, that’s my job isn’t it. Come along then, little warlock.” 

Warlock snorts a laugh and follows behind, watching with interest as the demon pauses at the door before turning determinedly back the way Warlock had come from and steering him into the deeper bracken by the river. Warlock is confident that the little dog had been nowhere near when he made the deal but he says nothing as the demon pushes aside the brush and scoops up Sasha, handing the wriggling pup over to him. 

“There,” the demon grins sharply, “that wasn’t so hard, was it?” 

“Like magic,” Warlock agrees lightly, amused by the demons snigger, “Be seeing you then. Or, uh, not actually.” 

“The feeling is mutual,” the demon assures, glancing down at the wriggling dog, “Although...thanks. Seriously. Not many people see a guy like me and stick around long enough to help. For the cheap return of a dog.” 

Warlock shrugs, shifting his excitedly yipping bundle, “Your eyes aren’t that scary, and the wings are kinda cool.” 

The demons eyebrow arches. “Yeah?” they ask slowly, “You think so? Most folk it’s the eyes they hate.” 

“Must be irritating,” Warlock concedes, “all having the same eyes.” The demon frowns at him but he’s already started walking away. “Oh!” he realises, turning around while still stepping carefully backwards through the dark field, “Do me a favour will you, no strings. Say hi to Ashtoreth for me, if you see her.” Sasha wriggles in his arms and he turns back around to keep hold of her while he negotiates his way back to the edge of the field, oblivious to the freed demon staring after him in shock. 


End file.
